Denise knew the dark side...

Denise knew the dark side of life. She had given herself over to the powers of cocaine. It was a cold, Midwest winter's evening when she looked into her empty coffee cup in the diner, and saw a reflection of her life -- empty. Her husband had taken their children and left. Finally admitting that she was powerless over the use of this drug, she entered a Christian rehabilitation program. After months of rebuilding her life through abstinence, counseling, prayer, and Bible study, she was asked by a friend, who was still using, if she would like to take a hit together.

Sandra Herrmann

The word epiphany is from the Greek and refers to the experience of a sudden and amazing realization. Usually it’s applied to a scientific or philosophical/religious breakthrough, but it can apply in any situation in which a brilliant insight gives a person a different perspective on life or a problem s/he has been considering. For example, Archimedes’ famous shriek of “Eureka!” came as he was in the baths, contemplating yet again the difficulty of determining if a given mass would float.

Ron LoveMark EllingsenBob OveBonnie BatesBill ThomasFrank Ramirez

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10Imagine a worship service, a sharing of scripture and interpretation, that went on from dawn until midday. How would you respond? In many of our mainline churches a worship service that last more than an hour risks negative comments to the pastor. “Worship was too long.” “I have other things to do today.” “Can’t you try to keep worship to an hour?”

Janice B. Scott

Some time ago there was a series of programmes on BBC 2 on the recent history of the Catholic Church. The series was called "Absolute Truth", and one programme looked at Catholicism in the developing parts of the world. It studied the work of liberation theologians in Latin America, particularly Leonardo Boff and Oscar Romero.